Insurance inflation in check – for some

In 2012, membership in health savings accounts and other high-deductible plans increased at half the rate of the previous year, according to a new report which credited those plans for playing a role in keeping health insurance premiums nationally in check ”“ though hefty hikes are in store for some Connecticut plans.

Average family premiums in the Northeast totaled $17,100 this year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust, which released their findings in an annual report of more than 240 pages. The organizations do not break down costs at the state level, lumping tiny Connecticut into the Northeast region that includes Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and New England.

Nationwide, premiums rose 4 percent on average for family plans, with the economy likely playing an impact along with high-deductible plans that are making some think twice about pursuing pricier medical options. And the foundation”™s CEO Drew Altman warns not to discount the impact of wellness programs, accountable care organizations, disease management programs and other innovations in health care that are being more widely adopted.

“Double-digit increases in premiums were once a common occurrence, but we have not seen any since a 10 percent increase in 2004,” Altman stated, in a written commentary accompanying the findings. “These are strikingly low numbers to those of us who have been studying health costs for a long time. A 4 percent increase in health premiums is good news, although good news is seldom ”˜news.”™ But will it last?”

Helping to defray family costs under the Affordable Care Act will be some $13 million in rebates insurance carriers will pay as a result of not hitting minimum spending thresholds for medical care, calculated at 85 percent for premiums collected on large-group policies, and 80 percent of taken from small-group and individual policies. The rebates average between $125 and $200 per family in Connecticut; if a small amount of their total health care bill, nevertheless helping offset the 4 percent increase calculated by The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.

The average amount workers contribute nationally to their health plans did not increase by a statistically significant amount. And the percentage of workers in high-deductible plans ”“ those that charge $2,000 or more out-of-pocket for medical procedures ”“ rose just 2 percentage points to 19 percent in all.

Carriers have pushed through double-digit increases on some of their group policies sold in Connecticut beginning Oct. 1, with ConnectiCare at deadline getting approval to increase its average small-group policy premiums 12.2 percent ”“ it had sought a 13.5 percent hike ”“ and its large group policies 10.4 percent. The Connecticut Insurance Department had turned down the EmblemHealth subsidiary”™s 11.7 percent request.

ConnectiCare had justified the figures based on projected increases in the cost of medical services and drugs, as well as the impact of the federal women”™s health care mandate. Combined, the increases affect more than 100,000 members in Connecticut.

At press deadline, the insurance department had yet to rule on additional filings by other carriers, including Wellpoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had a pending request to increase rates 13.8 percent on small-group policies and 14.5 percent on individual health plans that provide major medical and prescription drug coverage, as well as a 5.5 percent increase requested by Oxford Health Plans on its large-group policies. In August, state regulators approved a request from the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary to increase small-group premiums between 10.8 percent and 11.4 percent.